Words Unspoken Inside
by crazyundeadfairy
Summary: Clark and Lex's meeting at the beginning of "Asylum" goes a bit differently. Strongly implied Clark/Lex slash.


**Words Unspoken Inside**

Clark stepped cautiously into the room, his eyes searching out Lex. Seeing Ian and Eric had thrown him slightly, but he was determined to visit Lex. From the moment that Dr. Foster and her lackeys had descended on Lex, Clark knew he'd made a mistake. He'd wanted desperately to rush over and snatch his friend away, but fear had kept him glued to the spot. Clark had stayed hidden away, watching from the shadows as the Lex was herded into the vehicle and taken away to Belle Reve.

The very next day Clark had begun his quest to try and see Lex at the asylum. He'd waited nearly a whole month and wasn't leaving without at least seeing his best friend. No one knew where he was. His parents and Pete had spent the past month trying to convince him that Lex being locked up was a good thing. That as long as Lex was declared insane, no one would believe him if he started rambling about Clark having super powers. As each day went by without Lionel or any of his henchmen arriving at the farm, Clark was able to ignore their warnings and lectures a little more. At this point he didn't care that Lex knew is secret, not after seeing the type of people who inhabited Belle Reve. Lex didn't belong there.

"Lex," Clark breathed as he sighted the other man seated before the easel.

As if hearing him from across the room, Lex turned towards him. For a brief second, Lex's entire face lit up with hope. It was gone in a blink, but Clark knew he'd seen it before Lex's features were schooled to the usual calm that he knew so well. In the next instant, Lex was on his feet and striding towards him. It wasn't the confident swagger Clark was used to seeing. Instead Lex looked unsure—almost nervous—under his desperation to get to Clark.

"Clark," Lex murmured in awe, reaching out to clasp Clark's right hand between both of his. "I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever see you again."

Feeling the minute tremors shaking Lex's hands, Clark brought his left hand up to enfold his friend's. The near manic fear in Lex's eyes worried Clark. Like the trembling of his body, the crazed look seemed to flicker. Lex was obviously fighting whatever drugs they had him on, but at the moment didn't seem to be doing very well.

"I've been trying to visit you for the past month," Clark tried to assure him, taking a half-step closer in hopes of blocking out the sight of Belle Reve's common room. That maybe by doing so he could help Lex stay calm. "The doctors said you weren't ready to see anyone."

Clark was pretty sure Belle Reve's receptionists were sick of him by this point. He'd called every day for the past four weeks, hoping for some update on Lex. To at least be told that he could visit his best friend. He was met by silence with every call; always told that they couldn't disclose any information about Lex and that he couldn't visit him. Each day that had passed with no information only increased his unease. It didn't matter that Lex knew the truth about him. No matter what his parents tried to insist, Lex wasn't Lionel. Lex wouldn't betray him.

Lex's hands began to shake even more, so Clark squeezed them as tightly as he dared between his own. His fingers itched to reach back further and envelope Lex in his arms. He could wrap Lex up tight and spirit him away somewhere safe. Somewhere that he wouldn't be drugged or taken advantage of.

"You okay?"

The answering smile was almost childlike and chilled Clark to his core. This wasn't Lex. In the weeks since he'd last seen Lex, Clark had been able to make himself forget just how disturbed the other man had been while hiding out in the barn by focusing instead on trying to connect Lionel to Lex's breakdown. He knew that Darius was responsible for the actual drugging, but he couldn't who'd put him up to it and why. He suspected both Lionel and Morgan Edge—knew it was them—only he couldn't find a way to prove it.

"I know your secret," Lex seemed to taunt, giddy.

Instinct drew Clark's eyes to the security camera located only a few feet away from where they stood. He'd been trained from a young age to hide and protect his secret, even from his best friend. There were so many times that he'd wanted to tell Lex, if for no other reason than to end the strain on their relationship. He could have helped Lex before it got to this point. Clark desperately wanted to believe that some of Lex's sanity remained, but the man standing before him right then wasn't Lex Luthor. At least not the Lex Luthor that he'd known over the past two years.

"Don't worry," Lex continued, making a shushing noise and placing a finger vertically in front of his lips. "I haven't said a word to anyone."

Clark nearly jumped when Lex's hands suddenly clamped down on his upper arms. It would have taken barely a shrug for him to dislodge Lex's hands, but instead he fumbled for a moment before placing his hands on Lex's hips, holding him steady. Standing so close now, Clark could feel that Lex's whole body was trembling. He almost felt like he was vibrating, too strung out and on edge.

"I need you to get me out of here," Lex whispered, leaning in close. So close. He held Clark's gaze, pleading with his eyes even as he spoke. "I've seen what you can do. That car hit you at 60 miles per hour and you tossed it aside like a toy. Breaking me out's not going to be too much of a challenge."

Clark's eyes dropped shut and he leaned close enough to touch his forehead to Lex's. The fingers wrapped around his biceps squeezed tightly, but Clark barely felt it. He'd been so far away from Lex for weeks and his skin seemed to crave Lex's touch the way it did sunlight.

"Lex, I want to..."

"Then do it, Clark. My father's never gonna let me out."

Lex's hands framed his cheeks, clutching at him. Clark forced his eyes open and met Lex's panicked, fearful gaze. In that moment Clark decided that he didn't care what his parents said. Yes, it was safer for him if Lex remained at Belle Reve. Lex knew his secret and was currently more than a little unhinged. Lex was also his best friend. Clark had wanted to tell him the truth for so long, but had allowed his parents' fears about his safety and Lex's father to cloud his judgment. He knew that Lex was nothing like Lionel. He also knew that nothing Lex did would ever prove himself worthy in his parents' eyes. Time and again, though, Lex had proven himself to Clark.

He was worth the risk.

"You're my friend. Please, Clark…. Don't let me rot in this cesspool."

Once again Clark couldn't help noticing that it would have been so easy to gather Lex up in his arms and speed them out of the sanitarium. They'd be gone in a blink, moving too fast for the security cameras to catch them. Instead he nodded his head, the motion all but invisible to anyone watching them. Clark could tell that Lex felt it, though, because the slighter man all but sagged against him.

"Thank you," Lex sighed, his breath ghosting over Clark's cheek. Lex's fingertips were at his hairline, trying to wind themselves in some of the longer strands.

Clark stayed still for a moment, reveling in their closeness. "It can't be right now, though. There's too many people."

"Tonight."

It wasn't a question.

"Tonight."

As much as he wanted to stay exactly where he was, Clark could already hear the guard approaching. There was no way that his ten minutes were up, so Clark figured that the guard didn't like how close he and Lex were getting. Clark didn't want to let go of Lex, but, at the same time, he didn't want to cause a scene. Lex could be made to suffer if Lionel suspected anything.

"I'll come back for you," Clark promised as he forced himself back a step. "I won't leave you here."

Lex's gaze was frantic, but he let Clark step away. Clark's fingers slid along Lex's arms from his shoulders all the way up to his wrists, tangling their fingers together briefly. The squeeze of Lex's hands would have been painful if he'd been human. Clark had to restrain the urge to grip back just as tight for fear of hurting Lex. Instead he slowly began to lower Lex's hands away from his face.

"Time's up," the guard said from behind his left shoulder. "You need to leave now, Mr. Kent."

Lex practically growled, his hands shooting up to wrap around Clark's wrists. That, more than anything, was proof of how much the drugs were affecting Lex. Under normal circumstances Lex would never allow anyone to see him weak. There always seemed to be a wall between him and everyone else. Even Clark was only allowed to see past the wall every so often.

"I'm coming back," Clark repeated, staring hard at Lex. He didn't try to shrug out of Lex's grip letting the other man release him on his own. Clark smiled encouragingly when Lex's tight hold began to loosen.

"You're coming back," Lex murmured as he released Clark's wrists entirely.

Clark nodded his head then turned and followed the guard from the common area. He tried not to look back, to keep his eyes trained forward, but when he heard the frantic shuffling behind him, Clark immediately turned his head. He wished he hadn't. Leaving had been difficult enough when Lex was standing there solemnly. Lex was currently being restrained by two guards, each with their hands clamped tightly around his biceps to keep him from surging forward.

"Clark, don't leave me here. Come back. I promise I'll be good. Clark, come back. Clark! CLARK!"

It took every ounce of willpower he possessed to keep going forward. Leaving Lex behind a month ago, knowing that Lionel's paid flunkies were going to cart him away, had been nearly impossible. Then, just as how, it felt like a vice was clamping down on his chest when he heard the desperation in Lex's voice.

"How the mighty have fallen," the guard snorted under his breath, too quiet for most people to hear. But not too quiet for Clark to hear.

Since it was impossible to know just who was on Lionel's payroll, Clark had to bit his tongue while the guard insulted his best friend. Clark couldn't tell him that Lex wasn't really crazy. That Lionel had been drugging his scotch in order to preserve his own secrets. Clark wanted to be shocked that Lionel would do that to his own son, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't even muster a vague sense of surprise. His parents had tried to tell him that Lionel Luthor was cruel and ruthless, but Clark had never fully believed them. Not until he'd realized that Lex's slow decent into madness was at his father's bidding. The deed was carried out by Morgan Edge, but there was no denying that it was Lionel who'd ordered Lex's scotch poisoned.

All too soon Clark was being escorted from the main entrance of Belle Reve. He'd barely paid any attention to the layout of the institution, but that wasn't necessary to his plans for rescuing Lex. Even if they tried to hide Lex in the deepest recesses of the building, Clark would still be able to find him. He'd always be able to find Lex.

XXXXXXXXXX

"What the hell were you thinking, Clark?"

Clark had known that his father's reaction to his visit to Belle Reve would be bad, but he'd hoped the yelling wouldn't start right off. That he'd be allowed to explain. Except that the rules didn't always apply where Lex was concerned. Jonathan Kent may talk a good game about accepting people based on their own merit and not mere speculation or rumors, but he was quick to judge Lex because of nothing more than his father's name. Lionel Luthor was ruthless and untrustworthy in Jonathan's estimation and that judgment had been passed onto Lex before the two had even met.

"I was thinking that they were keeping Lex locked up in there on who knows what drugs and not letting anyone see him," Clark shot back, his determination to defy his father still strong. He stalked up the steps to the loft, knowing that Jonathan would follow him. It wasn't so much running away, as getting to his own territory. Clark could use whatever home field advantage he could get. "It's been weeks, Dad, and I'm pretty sure that the only reason they let me see Lex was because they were sick of me calling every day."

"Why are you the only one who can't see how dangerous Lex is?" Jonathan asked, exasperated. His tone and expression were both clearly shouting that these were things Clark should have figured out on his own already. "He's lost his mind, Clark, and he's not going to get better simply because you want him to."

Clark stared hard at his father as Jonathan climbed the last few steps up to the loft, doing everything he could to remain calm. He wouldn't accomplish anything if he and his father kept shouting at each other. Shouting would only make his dad dig his heels in more.

"Lex is my friend. I'm not going to stop seeing him just because someone tells me not to."

"But he knows your secret," his father continued to protest. As always, that was the ultimate argument in Jonathan Kent's arsenal. The one that allowed him to rationalize so many things that were against character.

The window ledge shattered in Clark's grasp. He squeezed until sawdust slipped between his fingers to the floor of the loft. It was all that his father could ever think about. No matter what Lex did to try and prove himself, Jonathan was determined to see him as nothing more than an extension of his father. It frustrated Clark to see how stubborn and pig-headed his dad was about Lex when he was constantly after him to form opinions on people based on their own actions.

Clark turned slowly to face his father, bringing himself up to his full height. He needed his dad to see him as an adult and not a child who would blindly be ordered around. Because while Clark would normally give sway to his father's opinion, this was one instance where Jonathan Kent didn't know best.

"My secret is not worth Lex's life."

His father scowled, throwing his hands up in frustration. "I don't understand you, son. How can you not see the kind of danger you're in whenever you're around him? The Luthors are poison, Clark."

"Lionel maybe, but not Lex," Clark bit out. He took a deep breath, willing himself calm. "All Lex has ever done is be my friend."

From the look on his father's face, Clark knew that he hadn't gotten through to him. Not that he'd ever expected to. His father had a blind spot where Luthors were concerned.

Clark almost wished that they were having their argument in the house instead of the barn. He desperately wanted to storm out and slam a door. There was something wonderfully cathartic about slamming the kitchen door shut behind him when he was arguing with his parents. Clark could have made an equally dramatic exit from the barn by jumping out the window, but he didn't want to give his father the satisfaction of chasing him out of his own sanctuary.

"I can't do what you want me to, Dad. Not this time."

Jonathan frowned, but didn't put up any arguments. Clark wanted his father to understand why he needed to save Lex. Only he couldn't figure out the right way to do it. The truth wouldn't work. His parents expected him to fall in love with someone like Lana or Chloe, so how could he explain to them that it was Lex who he was constantly fixated on?

"Please don't try and stop me," Clark said as his father turned towards the stairs. "Even if you don't like Lex, you have to know that he doesn't belong in there."

"I just want you to be safe, Clark." Even though it wasn't a promise not to interfere, Clark knew that it was the best he would get. His father loved him unconditionally and while they were forever butting heads, it was mainly because his father wanted to protect him.

"And I want Lex safe."

Father and son held each other's eyes for several long minutes. Clark willed his dad to understand just how important Lex was to him. Finally, just when Clark was about to give it up as a lost clause, his father nodded his head ever so slightly. Clark's whole body sagged with relief as he smiled gratefully at Jonathan.

"Don't make me regret this, Clark."

XXXXXXXXXX

Getting Lex out of Belle Reve would be the easy part. The difficult part was that Clark had absolutely no idea where to take Lex once he was free. The castle and the farm were completely out of the question because those were the first places Lionel would look for his missing son. He could take Lex to Metropolis—it would take moments to run there—but that still left the question of where to hide Lex once they arrived in the city. Metropolis was Lionel's domain and he he'd have no trouble tracking them down within its confines. Clark came up with and discarded at least a dozen possible scenarios while he waited for the sun to go down. Each one was ultimately set aside because it put Lex in too much danger.

In the end, he decided that the best plan would simply be to keep moving. Between his powers and the things he'd learned to do during his summer in Metropolis as Kal, Clark was confident that he could keep them under the radar until Lex was better.

"Clark, sweetheart, I really don't think this is a good idea," Martha worried as he stuffed his backpack with everything he thought he and Lex would need in the short term (clothes for Lex, some energy bars, bottled water). "Lionel is dangerous. If he's going through all this trouble to keep Lex locked up—"

"Then he's hiding something big," Clark finished for her without looking up. Of the two of them, his mother stood a far better chance of talking him out of it than his dad. "I've got Chloe looking into it. Once she finds out what Lionel's hiding it'll be safe for me to bring Lex home."

"He's also safe enough right where he is," Martha tried to argue. She crossed the room to sit down on his bed, forcing Clark to look at her. "Belle Reve is a government-run institution. They won't be able to hurt Lex there."

"So's Arkham," Clark said as he zipped the bag closed. An image of Lex's face, his expression tense and manic, flashed across Clark's mind and he shook his head to banish it. "That's not Lex in there. He's on so many different drugs that he can barely think straight. I have to get him out. I promised."

His mother reached up to place a hand on his arm, not restraining him, just ensuring that she had his attention. "I know you do, honey. I just wish... Please be careful, Clark. And call us when you can."

"Thank you," Clark whispered, leaning down to hug her tightly. "I'll be back as soon as it's safe.

XXXXXXXXXX

Belle Reve looked so much more imposing at night. It had all the appearance of a maximum-security prison, complete with searchlights, barbed wire and roving guards. Clark hovered beyond the range of the lights, scanning the massive structure for any sign of Lex's distinctive skeleton. Even at night, Belle Reve was crawling with people—patients and staff alike—making the process a slow one. Chloe had volunteered to get him the asylum's blueprints and patient room assignments. She stared at Cark in confusion when he said that he didn't need them. The truth was that Clark hadn't wanted to waste the time it would take Chloe to hack into the hospital's system when her time would be better spent finding proof that Lionel had drugged Lex. He was still glad he hadn't told her what his plan for rescuing Lex was. It was safer that way.

"Come on, Lex," Clark mumbled quietly when yet another less-skeletal x-ray check turned out not to be Lex. "It's time to get out of here."

Each time he was forced to expand his search a level deeper into the bowels of the complex, Clark's fears grew. Secrets were always either hidden away in attics or buried deep in basements. Since Belle Reve didn't have an attic to speak of, each level down likely meant that Lex was in that much more danger. Every instinct in him was screaming at him to stop waiting and go looking for Lex. Instead he forced himself to be patient and continue his methodical search. It would get him to Lex quicker even if it felt like it was taking infinitely longer.

Clark's heart momentarily stuttered to a stop when he caught sight of a familiar figure writhing on a table top in one of the institution's lowest levels. There were two other people in the room. Clark didn't recognize the first, but there was no mistaking who the second person was. Even his skeleton managed to look arrogant.

All hesitation gone, Clark stalked over to the chain link fence and tore a gash in it large enough for him to fit through. In the next blink he was gone, speeding past security and through the corridors towards the lower levels where Lex was trapped. Clark was only half aware of the gasps and screams that he left in his wake as the patients reacted to the sudden, unexplained breeze that filtered down the corridors.

He had to pause every so often to orient himself, but never stopped for more than a single breath. Belle Reve was a confusing maze of corridors and passages, no doubt designed that way to make it more difficult for patients to escape. Clark focused on Lex's frantic heartbeat, using it as a homing beacon to guide him deeper into the complex.

Clark came to a stop outside the room Lex was being held in. The walls were solid steel, at least three inches thick, with only a single heavy door. The only way to look into the room was through a small observation window in the door that was barely six inches across on each side. Clark peered through the window, trying to figure out as much of the layout as possible before he broke in.

Lex was strapped to the table in the center of the room, immobilized from his ankles all the way to the top of his head. That didn't prevent him from straining against the nylon straps, struggling so hard Clark could already see blood smearing over Lex's wrists, elbows and ankles. Lex was shouting something at his father as he fought to free himself, the words distorted around the rubber gag forced between his lips.

On the far side of the room was a large electrical panel with more knobs, displays and dials than Clark could figure out a use for. The doctor was hunched over the panel, fiddling with the controls while Lionel gave Lex a long-winded speech that was supposedly meant to comfort him.

The room's dim lighting only made Lionel's words seem that much more sinister.

It would have been obvious what was going to happen even if Lionel hadn't been trying to rationalize what he was doing to Lex. The diodes stuck to Lex's scalp were only half-visible from Clark's vantage point, but the large machine on the far side of the room gave everything away.

Lionel was giving the doctor permission to electrocute Lex. Frying his brain to make him forget what Lionel didn't want his son to know.

Clark was through the door before he even thought about it, punching it aside as though it were made of paper. He wrenched the straps off Lex and gathered him up in his arms, cradling him carefully. He hoped that Lex would recognize him by touch even if they were moving too fast for the other man to clearly see him.

Clark moved quickly, not as fast as he was capable of, but quick enough so that Lionel and the doctor couldn't interfere. There was much more that Clark wanted to do. He desperately wanted to destroy the machinery and toss Lionel and the doctor into one of the steel walls, but getting Lex out was more important. More important than so many other things in Clark's life, least of all his secret.

So Clark ran.

He kept running and running until Belle Reve wan't even a speck in the distance. By then he could feel Lex struggling against him and forced himself to slow to a stop even though he didn't think they were far enough away yet. Clark didn't think they'd ever be far enough away, not so long as Lionel was out there. Once Lex got better and the drugs were out of his system, Clark would feel safer. Or at least feel like he'd be able to let Lex out of his sight.

Before he even came to a full stop, Lex was already vaulting out of his arms. Clark stood back, arms held out at his sides while he waited for Lex to calm down. Getting too close too soon would probably only result in him getting punched, and that would hurt Lex more than him. So he stood back and gave Lex the chance to react to what had nearly happened in that basement cell however violently he needed to.

The first thing Lex did was yank the gag out of his mouth, screaming in frustrated rage as he did so. He then drew his arm back and launched it far across the field.

"What the hell—" Lex's shout cut off mid-sentence as he whirled around to face him. He stopped so abruptly that he stumbled, features going slack with shock. "Clark?"

"Hey, Lex."

It sounded terrible even to his own ears, but Clark was relieved that he managed to refrain from giving a little half wave. Even with all of the comic books he'd read over the years, Clark couldn't think of anything slightly more heroic or dashing to say. Was there really anything you could say that didn't sound stupid when you'd just saved the most important person in your life?

Lex stared at him in awe for a moment before bursting into hysterical laughter. Starting at the knees, Lex began to waver, his whole body crumpling even as he continued to laugh uncontrollably. Clark darted forward, catching him about the waist and easing them both carefully to the ground. He curled himself around Lex, offering warmth that the thin blue hospital scrubs just couldn't provide. Held on even tighter when the laughter became breathless sobs.

"I knew you'd come for me," Lex gasped, sucking in a deep breath to try and halt his tears.

Clark leaned forward until his lips brushed against Lex's scalp. He inhaled deeply, searching past the scent of fear, drugs and stale sweat for the smell that was purely Lex. "I'll always come for you."

Lex shifted a bit, winding his arms around Clark's torso. Clark let him hold on as tight as he needed to, smoothing his own hands up and down Lex's back.

"You believe I'm not crazy, don't you?" Lex murmured against his chest. His head was bowed, preventing Clark from seeing his face. His hands slowly began to creep up Clark's back until they were clutching at his shoulders from behind.

"I know you're not."

Lex slumped against him, his entire body going boneless in relief. They sat wrapped around each other in the middle of the field for a long time. Clark knew that they needed to get moving if they wanted to keep ahead of Lionel. He really didn't want to let go of Lex yet, though. Not after being separated from him for so long. In the two years they'd known each other, even when they'd been apart (and Lex hadn't been presumed dead), Clark had at least been able to talk to him on the phone. It wasn't enough, but it was at least some kind of contact.

"Thank you for getting me out of there," Lex said quietly, leaning back. Clark held his gaze, unable to look away from Lex's eyes. Eyes so blue. So open. So vulnerable. So... So intense in that moment that it almost felt like Lex was looking straight through him.

Clark curled himself around Lex, touching his forehead to the slighter man's. "I had to. There was no way I could leave you there."

Lex heaved a great sigh and seemed to sink even deeper into Clark. They stayed like that for a long time, neither one of them moving. Eventually he could feel Lex begin to shiver and reluctantly released his hold on Lex. Clark had made a quick trip to the mansion that afternoon to get some clothes for him. Even moving very quickly, it had taken him some time to find a pair of jeans and a t-shirt in Lex's massive closet. Finding a jacket and a pair of hiking boots had been much easier.

Still somewhat wobbly, Lex didn't put up a fight as Clark helped him change into his own clothes. It was more than a little awkward, at least on his part, but Clark was pretty sure there weren't protocols on helping your friend get dressed after escaping from a mental institution. Even if there were, Clark was sure that they wouldn't apply to him and Lex. Clark already knew that he touched Lex a lot more than most people thought was normal. For them, though, it was normal.

Besides, there was something that felt very normal about sliding Lex's t-shirt over his shoulders and stroking it to lie flat down his back. Lex leaned into him, reaching back to catch hold of Clark's hands. He didn't tug Clark's hands forward, but seemed content just to touch him.

"We need to get moving," Clark whispered against the back of Lex's skull. "I don't want your dad to find you."

Lex shuddered briefly, nodding his head. "No doubt he already has his dogs out looking for me. They'll be swarming all over Metropolis and Gotham by now. And everywhere in between."

"Then we won't head in that direction," Clark said as he moved towards his backpack to collect Lex's jacket. He crouched down, his body turned partially away from Lex. Now that the time came, he wasn't sure he could actually say the words. "We can go anywhere. Just name a place and I can get us there. I want you safe, Lex."

Jacket held in one hand, Clark rose back to his feet. He made himself meet Lex's gaze and hold it, willing Lex to understand so that he wouldn't have to tell him. It should have been easy. It was only five simple words. _You were right about me._ There wasn't time for a full explanation, and Clark didn't think Lex was ready for one yet. That would come later, once Lionel wasn't a threat.

"Clark?" Lex questioned, his eyes darting between Clark's face and his coat.

Clark turned to fully so that he and Lex were standing face to face. "I can keep you safe, Lex. From your father and everyone else. I _will_ keep you safe."

Le groaned slightly and staggered away a few steps. He shook his head as though to clear it, brining a hand up to rub at his temple. "Clark, what did you do? My father..."

"Doesn't matter. Neither does my father."

They held each other's eyes for several long minutes, neither of them saying anything. Clark held out the jacket again, his fingers brushing against Lex's as the older man took possession of his coat. He clenched his fingers tightly around the collar then allowed his hand to drop down to his side. His too blue eyes never left Clark's.

Lex's expression was filled with something like wonder, clearly visible even in the dim moonlight. "No more lies?

"No more lies."

The end.


End file.
